Chapter 225: Fight Over, Time to Sleep

The Purple-Gold Skeleton strode forward, its toe bones nearly digging into the earth; the ground simply could not withstand such instantaneous explosive force, so before the burst, a ring of purple luminescence flared on the surface, then shattered.

This layer of purple luminescence reinforced the ground, thereby granting the Purple-Gold Skeleton terrifying explosive power; with a single push of its leg, its entire body shot out like a cannonball.

One step carried it over ten meters; its feet crossed, speed suddenly increasing. The Purple-Gold Skeleton seemed to tread upon rings of purple ripples, hurtling toward the city wall like a cannonball.

The vast majority did not recognize the Lord of Mourning, but Dai Sen's tone and inflection made them feel the gravity of the situation; almost instantly, the Soul Tower's output was pushed to its maximum.

Within the Shengbicheng stood four Soul Towers: two atop the city walls, and two on the two-story platforms behind the walls. Each tower was a heavily guarded forbidden zone, for entering one revealed a terrifying scene: countless skulls piled high inside.

Every skull's resting place was a small formation; densely packed, there might be tens of thousands of them.

When the Soul Tower's output reached its peak, all these formations lit up simultaneously, and those skulls, as if in slumber, began to emit Xiong Xiong flames from their eye sockets.

Everyone believed the Soul Tower was merely a tower for pinpointing and killing souls; few knew that the very force driving the Soul Tower was those undying souls.

These skeletons, reduced to a single skull, possessed no independent consciousness; they were used merely as energy sources. Though each soul was not particularly strong, when tens of thousands converged, they could unleash a soul lightning so intense that even Dimensional Beasts could not endure it.

Moreover, soul lightning granted an additional bonus against undead creatures. Now, with only a lone Purple-Gold Skeleton charging forward, the Soul Towers needed no target distribution; everyone could not help but anticipate the effect of the soul lightning.

"Soul lightning" was merely a vivid description; in truth, it was not lightning at all, but a soul shockwave.

When a massive surge of soul energy struck an enemy, it would trigger a phenomenon resembling black lightning. Thus, it was not that lightning struck the enemy; rather, the "lightning" was triggered only after the impact. If the enemy was extremely weak, this phenomenon might not even be triggered.

The Purple-Gold Skeleton's body seemed struck by an invisible giant hammer; its entire form jerked to a halt. Several thick bolts of black lightning splashed backward, making it resemble a hedgehog bristling with spikes.

From one of the Soul Towers emerged countless mournful wails; thick black smoke could be vaguely seen surging from the tower's peak, and the temperature near the tower dropped by three or four degrees.

Inside the Soul Tower, the souls within the tens of thousands of skulls exploded simultaneously, transforming into black smoke that rose in curling wisps, while a few sank to the tower's base, where a thick layer of ash had already accumulated.

The Soul Tower's pinpoint strike resulted in the tower's own destruction, yet the Purple-Gold Skeleton merely paused, then continued its furious sprint forward with long strides.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three more bolts of black lightning were triggered; the Purple-Gold Skeleton halted, halted again, then finally swayed and came to a stop.

The remaining three Soul Towers likewise began emitting black smoke and ceased functioning entirely.

The Purple-Gold Skeleton seemed angered; its charging momentum had been interrupted? This infuriated it. Standing there, its entire body tensed, and it transformed!

Xiong Xiong soul flames ignited, then solidified, wrapping around it to form a fearsome soul armor. Only now did everyone realize: the Mourning Skeleton that had destroyed four Soul Towers had not even been wearing armor?

Having summoned its soul armor, the Purple-Gold Skeleton began to run once more.

The Soul Tower was a weapon humans trusted greatly; over these several hundred years, countless undead creatures had been pinpoint-killed by it. Its range was vast; build a Soul Tower atop a mountain peak, and day or night, it would be nearly impossible for any undead creature to cross the ridge.

Yet now, the weapon they trusted was being damaged one after another, only to force the enemy's soul armor into the open. Now everyone understood why Dai Sen, the High Priest, had screamed in terror.

Everyone shouted in unison: "Stop it! Stop it! Attack! Attack!"

Arrows, crossbow bolts, and catapult stones rained down upon the Purple-Gold Skeleton; defensive towers fired beams of light that struck its body.

These light beams resembled the Holy Light of the Little Angels, though slightly weaker in power. Yet with so many beams shining down, the soul armor on the Purple-Gold Skeleton melted layer by layer, quickly revealing the bones beneath.

Soul flames surged upon the Purple-Gold Skeleton, repairing the melting soul armor.

Boom! A massive stone struck the Purple-Gold Skeleton, exploding into a cloud of powder, eliciting a few cheers. Arrows and catapults had poor accuracy; though they struck with gusto, very few actually hit the Purple-Gold Skeleton.

To land such a direct hit, the catapult operator must have been blessed by the Goddess of Fortune.

Yet the Purple-Gold Skeleton burst unscathed from the powder smoke; indeed, because the smoke blocked the defensive towers' light beams, the soul armor on the skeleton recovered significantly.

Everyone realized that weapons like bows, crossbows, and catapults were ineffective against an enemy of this caliber.

"Stop him! Stop him!" many shrieked, but how could they stop him?

The Little Angel, full of enthusiasm, was about to charge forward. Although its true wings had been retracted by Seeing Ange, its light wings were already stirring restlessly.

Seeing Ange grabbed it and pulled it back.

"Awo!" The Little Angel tilted its head, confused.

"Awo!" Seeing Ange roared.

"Awo!" The Little Angel's eyes lit up; it nodded its small head vigorously.

The "awo" sounds they made reached the ears of the goblins who had not yet gone far, startling them; they suddenly turned their heads.

Upon seeing Seeing Ange clearly, the goblin's mouth gaped wide, as if to shout, but immediately realizing something, it trotted over: "My lord, why are you here?"

"Don't ask. Stand still and don't wander off." Lord Nai Ge's voice emerged from Seeing Ange: "You ask us? What about you? You appear and disappear like a ghost; your business has even reached the Land of Perdition. You are impressive."

This goblin was, of course, Silver Coin. Yet hearing Lord Nai Ge's words, he replied somewhat puzzled: "I already reported to my lord."

No need to ask; it must have been cut off again at Seeing Ange's end, because the business Silver Coin conducted did not interest him, so he was too lazy to remember it.

Lord Nai Ge was speechless and could only say: "Forget it. Handle it yourself. Don't wander too far; if we need to flee later, we can take you along."

"Oh, oh, oh." Silver Coin obediently stood aside after hearing this.

The Little Angel was held back by Seeing Ange, but the other Saintesses were not; they successively summoned their Holy Spirits and spread their light wings.

At least six Saintesses, after being possessed by Holy Spirits, possessed the ability to unleash Holy Light; zzzzz... six beams of light shot toward the Purple-Gold Skeleton.

The Purple-Gold Skeleton threw punches: one punch, two punches... The straight beams of light were, one by one, swatted aside by its fists, as if batting a rubber ball.

No one could believe what their eyes saw: Holy Light, shattered by such a method? How was that possible?

There was nothing impossible about it; Seeing Ange was not surprised at all. Back then, the Little Angel alone had been able to block the enemy's Holy Light; as long as the method was appropriate, breaking Holy Light was achievable.

However, the Purple-Gold Skeleton was clearly relying on brute force to break through; after smashing the light beams, the soul armor on its hands had melted away completely.

Yet some creatures' bodies were far more durable than armor; the Purple-Gold Skeleton's bones were harder than its soul armor. Even if the armor broke, not a single scratch would harm its true form.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from the city wall: "God says: The original sin you bear is a heavy shackle. Bind!"

Seven thick chains of light erupted from the ground, coiling around the Purple-Gold Skeleton.

But the shackle of original sin could not halt the Purple-Gold Skeleton's advance; it merely slowed slightly, while the shackle itself was dragged longer and longer by it until it finally snapped.

"God says: At the end of the gaze lies the wall separating the other shore, unbreakable—the Wall of the Other Shore." A wall of light suddenly materialized before the Purple-Gold Skeleton.

The Purple-Gold Skeleton hesitated not a moment and crashed headlong into it.

The unbreakable Wall of the Other Shore shattered with a thunderous crash; Dai Sen's face turned pale, and he suddenly spat a mouthful of fresh blood.

As the distance closed, the divine officials, Saintesses, Holy Spirits, and priests atop the city wall all joined the assault; beams of pure white light surged from the ground, while spheres of light rained down from the wall, engulfing the Purple-Gold Skeleton.

Yet the Purple-Gold Skeleton's speed did not diminish; enduring all manner of attacks, its form unchanged, it shot straight toward the city wall.

Even after its soul armor melted away, exposing all its bones, it did not stop; as if nothing could hinder it, its longing for the city wall...

A Divine Knight stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Knights bathed in divine grace, the time for your sacrifice has come! Please, Holy Light, illuminate the path before us!"

Having spoken, he leaped down from the city wall.

The knights beside him followed him down without hesitation.

Several Divine Knights were inspired and jumped down after him, but far more hesitated and wavered...

The first Divine Knight to leap down led his subordinates to charge at the Purple-Gold Skeleton; their powers merged into one—Divine Charge!

Light flared before them, as if Holy Light truly illuminated their path, and then they crashed into the Purple-Gold Skeleton.

Have you ever watched someone play bowling? Valor cannot be converted into strength; the entire squad was scattered like limbs and broken bones flung by a war chariot.

The Divine Knights who jumped down behind them stopped in despair; the enemy was too terrifying, and they felt like insects preparing to block a chariot wheel.

"Hallelu—Messiah—Bosia—Xisma—Amaka—" A desperate Divine Knight struck his breastplate and began chanting a hymn. He stood directly before the Purple-Gold Skeleton, and a layer of Bai Guang condensed upon him—Holy Ward.

Under his lead, the other Divine Knights stepped forward, formed a line, and cast Holy Ward.

"This is the Wall of Holy Ward! Long live the Divine Knights!" Someone shouted hoarsely, though no one knew who.

Boom! The Purple-Gold Skeleton crashed into the Wall of Holy Ward, passed through it, and then struck the city wall.

If everything were slowed down, one could see the impact point first denting, the surrounding city wall rippling like water, hard stones compressed, constantly swelling and spreading, then exploding.

But everything happened too fast for anyone to see clearly; all they saw was the crash, the explosion, the city wall bursting open into a huge hole, with flying rubble and severed limbs, and thick smoke billowing.

The city wall where Seeing Ange and others stood was in Sector Four, far from Sector One where the impact occurred, yet they still felt the ferocity of the collision; the wall shook so violently that no one could stand steady.

Those who could barely stand anxiously gazed toward the impact site, vaguely seeing the huge hole there. The city wall was breached? What should be done?

Something bounced out of the billowing thick smoke and fell to the ground with a plop. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a purple-gold arm. Had the Purple-Gold Skeleton also fallen apart?

Before anyone could cheer, a Purple-Gold Skeleton walked out of the thick smoke, picked up its own arm, clicked it back into place with a clack, and flexed it. It raised its right hand, made an "Eh?" sound, and said, "Where are my fingers?"

On its palm, only half of the middle finger remained; the other half was gone.

Seeing Ange turned to look at the Dimensional Beast. This big cat had jumped from Selina's arms at some point, poked its tiny paws into the spatial rift, and fished back a segment of finger bone.

Seeing Seeing Ange look over, it zipped down and lay on the finger bone, hooking it with its two tiny paws, and looked around innocently as if nothing were wrong.

Seeing Ange continued staring at it. Seeing that it couldn't get away with it, the Dimensional Beast tucked its two tiny paws under its belly, scratched a bit, then pressed a finger bone segment with its left paw and pushed it out.

The finger bone segment it fished out had two joints; now there was one for each of them.

Seeing Ange bent down and picked it up, effectively agreeing to this trade.

The Dimensional Beast sighed in relief, tucked away its own finger bone segment, jumped onto Seeing Ange's shoulder, held onto Seeing Ange's head, propped itself up a bit higher, and gazed into the distance.

The Purple-Gold Skeleton lowered its head and searched there for a while. Unable to retrieve its middle finger, it gave up. It turned around, faced away from the city wall behind it, bowed toward the distant Land of Death, and let out a long cry: "Woo~~~"

On the distant ground, the carpet composed of undead creatures surged, advancing like a tide.

The Purple-Gold Skeleton murmured, "Fight done, sleep now." Then it limped back, not even turning to look at the city wall behind it.

The human defense line, held for over a thousand years, was broken thus. The skeleton that broke it, as if having completed a trivial task, only wanted to return and sleep.

However, judging by its limping gait, it was probably not as carefree as it appeared on the surface.

On the platform behind the city wall, Dai Sen's legs had already gone so weak he could not stand. He stared blankly at the retreating Purple-Gold Skeleton and murmured, "This... this is the power of the Lord of Mourning? Is it really this terrifying?"

Someone from behind came over and helped him up, saying, "My lord, we must go."

"Go?" Dai Sen paused, dazed. "Where?"

His subordinate said, "Back to the Prime Material Plane, to continue the defense."

Dai Sen asked blankly, "Can it still be defended?"

"Of course. The Prime Material Plane has powerful planar barriers, making it easier to defend. Moreover, my lord, isn't returning to the Prime Material Plane exactly what you wanted?"

Dai Sen's eyes lit up. Oh right, from this angle, the loss of the Land of Despair didn't seem like such a bad thing after all.

"Go!" Dai Sen, reinvigorated, led his loyal subordinates straight for the teleportation array.

However, evacuating everyone in a short time was impossible. Before the people of Shengbicheng had all left, the undead flood had already surged up, pouring into the city through the breach in the wall.

A Lich Saint floated at the very front, shouting loudly, "Don't kill indiscriminately, don't kill indiscriminately; they are all resources. Just capture them."

Big Bone carefully avoided other skeletons, walking close to the wall to avoid bumping into and breaking anything. However, it soon ran into another Golden Skeleton also walking close to the wall.

Big Bone waved its hands wildly, claws out: "Awooo~" It prepared to scare the other one into making way.

The Golden Skeleton looked at it, tilted its head, and suddenly waved its hands at Big Bone too: "Awooo awooo!"